deny them thefe talents, because among them, as among ourselves, there are individuals, devoid of all tafte, who would prefer an acroftic or an happy conundrum to the most beautiful epic poem ? had curiofity, during the many years that he spent in Turkey, affiduously employed in developing its national character, led the Baron for a moment into one of its Medreffes or colleges, he would have feen its pupils employed in the ftudy of grammar, rhetoric, profody, logic, metaphyfics, morals, philofophy, religion, and polity. He would have found that the elements of Euclid, and the fublimer parts of the mathematics, formed a regular branch in their code of education. He would have found them familiarly acquainted with the philofophy of Ariftotle, and all the works of Plato. In their libraries he would have found valuable authors op every fubject, whether of abftract fcience, or of polite literature. He would have found poems, fables, tales, and romances. The fables of Lackman, the tales of Nafraddin, Khodjea, the romances of Leila ve Medenoun, of Joufouf and Zeuleika, their Medjemouas, or collection of fugitive pieces, their Boftans, or miscellaneous poems, poffefs a fund of entertainment that must please and captivate the most faftidious reader, and whofe merit even the Baron must acknowledge. I might appeal for a proof of their national efprit to their fententious and proverbial fayings, the fuperior point and elegance, and beauty of which, to thofe of every other nation, he must have felt in their full force, critically acquainted as he is with their language. I might appeal to their Mufaphis or profeffed orators, men, who, to pay their court to the Turkish nobility, undertake to fupport the fpirit of conversation, and furnish the entertainment of the company. Did the Baron ever spend an evening in a circle of these bons vivans, without deriving from them knowledge and information, without being equally charmed with the cafe, the elegance, the wit and the good fenfe of their conversation? but all this I shall be told is infufficient to the juftification of the Turks. Their flow progrefs in the arts and fciences, their neglect of tactics, navigation, and military difcipline, and the prevailing imperfections, and even vices of their government, will still remain incontrovertible truths. I acknowledge it. And the more I know of their aptitude and docility, for every fcience they will be at the pains to acquire, the more I lament to find them, in these respects, at the distance of two centuries from every European nation. But it would be a misfortune indeed that the idea of the author of the memoirs fhould prevail, and that the rank in which he places them in the focial world fhould be confidered as the ftandard of their merit; an idea that would almoft degrade a nation of favages the moft remote from civilized fociety.' The errors, in point of hiftory, geography, and chronology, which M. de Peyfonnel has detected in the Baron de Tott, are very numerous and important, and fo very obvious, that we wonder how they could have efcaped the Baron. We will beg leave, before we difmifs him, to prefent the reader with two or three fhort examples, together with the obfervations of our author. Georgia, fays the Baron de Tott, is rather one of the dependencies of Perfia than of Turkey; but the prince Heraclitus has availed himself of the troubles which have laid waste the dominions of his fovereign, to enjoy a kind of independence.' M. de M. de Peyfonnel has corrected with perfect accuracy the blunders of this paffage. Georgia is divided into two parts; the one, which is bounded by the Black Sea, and includes the kingdom of Imirch and the principality of Mingrelia and Guriel, was ceded to the Turks; the other, which approaches to the Cafpian fea, and comprehends the kingdoms of Carduel and Caket, was under the dominion of Perfia. Saloman, who reigns over the one, and Heraclitus, who governs the other, have equally thrown off the yoke of their refpective fovereigns. But Heraclitus is become the vaffal of Ruffia. Saloman preferves his independence to this day.' The Baron confounds the death of Sultan Ofman with that of Sultan Mahmoud, and his account of their genealogy is equally erroneous. Sultan Mahmoud, who fat upon the Turkish throne for the space of twenty-four years, from 1730 to 1754, and Sultan Ofman his brother, were not the fons of Sultan Achmed, but of Muftapha III, the eldeft brother and fucceffor of Achmed Muftapha the fourth, who fucceded Ofman, was the fon of Achmed, and coufin german only to Mahmoud and Osman. Achmed had five fons; Mahmoud the eldeft, who was poisoned by Ofman; Mufstapha IV. who fucceeded Ofman; Bajazet and Ourkman, who died in the feraglio; and the present reigning Sultan Abdulamid. Again, Racub Pacha,' fays the Baron de Tott, had formerly been Pacha of Cairo, the office of all others the leaft adapted to his character. The undifciplined ftate of the Bey-Mameluis, propped up by force, had left him no other refource but corruption for his fupport, without being the lefs expofed to acts of violence. He had juft efcaped from the ball of a piftol, fired at him in his own divan, when the grand fignior, Sultan Ofman, promoted him to the Vifi rate. The contradictions and inconfiftencies of this paffage are too glaring to escape the eyes of one fo well informed upon the fubject as M. de Peyfonnel. Mahmoud was the reigning fultan, when Racub Pacha was recalled from Cairo, which was prior to his escape from the danger of the piftol. He was afterward's conftituted by this prince Pacha of Aiden, and then of Aleppo; and he officiated in these respective capacities for many years, before he was called to the Vifirate by Sultan Olman, the brother and fucceffor of Mahmoud. I have indisputable evidence to the truth of this account. When my father, who was fecretary, and the late M. de Laria, who was interpreter to the French ambaffador, were fent to the Ottoman army, to fettle the preliminaries of the peace of Belgrade, my father's tent was pitched hear the tent of Racub, who was at this period fecretary for foreign affairs. The weight of the treaty fell to the lot of my father. And the daily intercourfe, that muft neceffarily take place between him and Racub, was the foundation of a friendfhip that feldom fubfifts between between a Türk and a Chriftian. When Racub fome time after was recalled from Cairo, to fo exalted a degree did his regard for my father extend, he made the tour of Smyrna, and pitched his camp in the plains of Hadjelaur, for the fole purpose of paying a vifit to my father, who was then at Smyrna in the capacity of conful general of France. To enhance the honour of his vifit, he invited my father to his camp, and gave a fuperb entertainment to all the nobility of Smyrna. I was prefent at this rout, and was a witness of the diftinguished attachment of Racub.. "Doftum Coadjeaduch," said he, embracing my father tenderly; "we are both grown old my friend." And fee, continued he, pointing to his beard, that was prematurely "how venerable are the beards of those who return from grey, Cairo." The valuable hiftorical journal of the Tartars, containing their most ancient traditions and all the fucceffive facts down to the present time, undertaken by the ancestors of a family who have always preferved and carefully continued it, and for which the Baron afferts that he offered ten thousand crowns, is it feems a manufcript of his own invention. M. de Pyfonnel bas never heard of fuch a manufcript; and it is hardly within the bounds of poffibility, that a performance fo notorious and celebrated (according to the baron) could have efcaped the inquifitive attention of M. de Peyfonnel, had it any existence but in the baron's imagination. The bounds which we allot to ourselves will not permit us to prefent the reader with any further extract from this work. Thefe we have already made, are, we truft, fufficient to excite his curiofity, and to tempt every admirer of the Baron de Tott to be provided with this effectual antidote to his poifon. We fufpected the baron of a little attachment to the wonderful. M. de Peyfonnel has confirmed us in our conjecture, and has lopped off the exuberances of his author's fancy with a faithful and difcriminating hand. Had every traveller a commentator of equal fkill' and veracity, it would perhaps cure this abandoned fpirit, old and inveterate as it is; and, operating in terrorem, make them more cautious of palming upon the world their own wild inventions for hiftorical truths. Commentators in general are, of all writers, the most dull and infipid. M. de Peyfonnel has ingenioufly contrived that we should feel nothing of this, and his book is as full of entertainment, as if it were a continuous and unbroken performance. ART. ART. XIII. Tal om Japanska Nationen, &c. A Speech concerning the Japanese; delivered before the Royal Academy Sciences, by C. P. Thunberg, when he refigned the office of Prefident. Stockholm. (Concluded.) THE religion throughout Japan is heathenish, but there are many different fects, which all however live in the greatest unanimity and concord, without difputes or quarrels. The fpiritual emperor, Dairi, is like the Pope, head of the church, and has the appointment of the chief priests. Every fect has feparate churches and feparate idols, which are represented under some determinate, and that often a monftrous fhape. They commonly invent a great number of idols, one for almost every trade, like the old Romans; and confequently they have inferior and fuperior gods. One eternal and almighty God, fuperior to all the reft, is not indeed unknown to the Japanese, but the knowledge of him is enveloped in much darkness. I have not however feen among any heathens fuch a large and majestic idol of this god, as in two Japanefe temples. In the one there is an image of gilt wood, of fuch an enormous fize that fix men may fit, according to the Japanele fashion, in the palm of his hand, and the breadth between the fhoulders is five fathoms. In the other, his infinite power is reprefented by fmaller gods, which stand around him on all fides, to the number of 33,333. They have many temples, which are built for the most part without the cities on fome eminence, and in the finest fituations. There are a number of priests in every temple, although they have but little to do, their bufinefs being to keep the temple clean, to light the candles, &c. and offer flowers confecrated to the idol, and such as they believe to be most acceptable to it. There is no preaching or finging in the temples, but they always ftand open for those who may come to pray, or make fome offering. Strangers are never excluded from the temples, even the Dutch are allowed to visit them; and, when the inns are taken up, they are lodged in them, as actually happened once during my journey to court. The arms of the Japanese consist of a bow and arrow, sabre, halbert, and musket. The bows are very large, and the arrows long, as in China. When the bows are to be bent and difcharged, the troop always refts on one knee, which hinders them making a speedy difcharge. In the fpring, the troops aflemble to practise fhooting at a mark. Muskets are not gene ral, ral, I only faw them in the hands of persons of diftinction, in a separate and elevated part of the audience-room. The barrel is of the common length, but the ftock is very fhort, and, as well as I could obferve at a distance, there was a match in the lock. I never faw a gun fired, though I have often heard the report from the Dutch factory. The interpreters informed me, that the stock, which, on account of its fhortnefs, cannot be placed against the shoulder, is fet against the cheek, an account that is not altogether credible. Cannons are not used in this country, but in Nagafaki, at the imperial guard, there are feveral, formerly taken from the Portuguese, though fhips are not faluted, and indeed scarce any use at all is made of them. The Japanese have very little skill in managing them, and when they fire them, which is commonly done once in feven years, in order to clean and prove them, the artillery man provides himself with a long pole having a match at the end, which he applies with averted eyes. The fabre is therefore their principal and best weapon, which is univerfally worn, except by the peasants. They are commonly a yard long, a little crooked and thick in the back. The blades are of an incomparable goodness, and the old ones are in very high efteem. They are far fuperior to the Spanish blades, fo celebrated in Europe. A tolerably thick nail is eafily cut in two, without any damage to the edge; and a man, according to the account of the Japanese, may be cleft in two. No blade is fold under fix kobangs, but the fabres often coft 50, óo, nay, above 100 rix-dollars; they conftitute the dearest and most beloved property of the Japanese. The hilt is furnished with a round and firm plate, has no bow, and is fometimes fix inches in length. The hilt is flat, with obtufe edges; it is cut off tranfverfely at the end, and covered with the fkin of the fhark, which is uneven on its furface; it is imported by the Dutch, and fold very dear; fometimes at 50 or 60 kobangs, each kobang at fix rix-dollars. Befides, filk cord is wrapped round in such a manner that the fhagreen may be seen through it; the plates are thicker than a fix-dollar; they either are adorned with figures in high relief, or pierced artificially with a number of holes. The theath is thick and fomewhat flat; it is truncated at the end; it is fometimes covered with the finest fhagreen, which is varnifhed; it is fometimes of wood, and painted with a black varnish, or variegated with black and white; one sometimes obferves a filver ring or two on the sheath. On one of the fides there is a small elevation, perforated with a hole, through which a filk ftring paffes, and ferves to faften the fabre occafionally, Within the hilt there is also a cavity for receiving a knife of three inches length. A feparate fath is never uled, but the fword is ftuck in the belt, on the left fide, with the edge upwards, which to a European appears ridiculous. All perfons in office wear |
